September 18, 2007

We rescheduled our visit to the Kigali Memorial Centre to today. It's a genocide memorial where over 250,000 bodies (or parts of bodies) are buried, with room for more because bodies are still being found. All of the people who work there are genocide survivors who tell their stories every day. The displays were at times difficult to look at, but it's important for people to understand because genocides keep happening. People here seem hopeful about the future and proud of the progress Rwanda has made in rebuilding, healing, and reconciling.

Sunday September 16, 2007

I'm finally here. It look just about forever, but it's all worth it now. For the moment, I'm sitting in the lobby of my hotel (free wi-fi), and it actually feels more like Europe than Africa, i.e., the hotel is a little too nice. What to say? The airport in Kigali is so small we rode in the plane almost to the front door of the main building. We drove around the city quite a bit this afternoon--it's a patchwork of modern and timeless. A lot of construction is going on--new government buildings, houses, and apartment buildings and yet you see people carrying loads of bananas and firewood on their heads. People stop and stare at a busload of muzungus (white people), but then they usually wave.


We saw some genocide stuff today--Camp Kigali where the Belgian UN Peacekeepers were killed on the first day of the genocide is now a simple and moving museum and memorial site. We also saw the Hotel des Milles Collines (the hotel in Hotel Rwanda), stopped to use their restrooms actually, so I took some pictures of the hotel and pool. I don't think I'll have a chance to swim there, but our hotel has a nice pool too (just not famous).


We'll see another genocide memorial tomorrow on the way to Butare, then we'll be done with that stuff and focus more on how Rwanda has changed. By the way, you see very little litter here, and plastic bags (grocery bags) are illegal because they cause so much litter.

September 9, 2007

It's Sunday, and I'm leaving for Rwanda on Friday. Yesterday, I bought a bunch of "stuff" for my trip--typical American, I guess. We always have to buy more stuff! I bought some fabulous hiking boots, one of those superabsorbent towels (handy for washing up on the plane--it will take us 2 days to get there), and a reusable, foldable water bottle. That's not so bad, is it?